During my recent vacation, I spent some time at my mother's in Duluth, GA (just a bit outside Atlanta). In Duluth they have an interesting solution for paying for trash disposal.

All trash must be placed in special 'Duluth City' trash bags in order to be collected. The bags are purple and have the city logo on them. You may purchase the bags at many of the major grocery stores in the Duluth area. The bags costs a few dollars each (I am not sure of the exact cost, but it's more then $1 each). The bags are somewhat large and can hold about 4 or 5 of your standard white, 15 gal. kitchen trash bags.

With the system, it's pay-per-use. Don't create much garbage? Then you don't pay as much. When my mom travels a bit for work, she may only have one bag per month.

Each resident is allowed a number or 'special pick-ups' each year. These would be for large items that may not fit in one of the bags.

I think the system is great. It also looks great to see a street lined with matching trash bags.